Getting to know Nadi

Nadi is one Fiji’s bustling township on mainland Viti Levu and is also the gateway to the world.

One of the largest towns and most visitors’ first stop on Fiji, Nadi is a culturally diverse city of 30,000. A bustling tourism hub on Viti Levu’s west coast, Nadi is a great place for travelers to eat, drink and shop. Main Street offers plenty of options for retail therapy, with the latest Hindi or Fijian music playing from every storefront.

Nadi derives its name directly from its iTaukei name which was Tikina o Nadi. Established in 1947, Nadi town was set up to service the western division and had most Government offices established in the township that year. This prompted a move whereby small business houses set up close to these Offices and thus the township was born.

Fijian PM warns foreign investors

Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has issued a warning to foreign developers who plan to do business in the country: “If you break our laws, you will be punished.”

PM Frank Banimarama addresses the Fiji Tourism Awards 

Speaking at the recent Fiji Tourism Awards in Nadi, Mr Bainimarama said he was alarmed by recent reports of environmental protection breaches in the country.

Any development must not come at the expense of the health of Fiji’s people or its natural environment, he said.

The Rent Freeze in Fiji

For over ten years, there has been a rent freeze in Fiji. The rent freeze was first introduced to counter inflation however it now serves as a means to protect consumers while at the same time serving the purpose of ensuring affordable housing for all Fijians.

This is governed by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (Rent Increase Restriction on Residential and Ground Rent) Order 2018 where it clearly states that landlords are not allowed to increase rent for residential tenancy until December 31, 2019.

The question that arises is whether it is about time to have a landlord focused industry or keep cushioning the impact of change for consumers?

Fiji’s Land exchange with India in spotlight

The Lands Minister believes the exchange of land between Fiji and India to construct embassies is a win – win situation for both countries.

A number of people have signed petitions without seeking any clarification and have also spread rumors that the proposed Indian Embassy will be constructed at the Botanical garden.

However, the Local Government and the Land Ministry have clarified that the proposed Embassy will be built away from the actual garden.

Lands Minister Ashneel Sudhakar says the land where the proposed Indian Embassy will be built has been lying idle for many years.

“It’s never been used and nobody has been occupying that and nobody has been using it for 100 years and suddenly we hear that a lot of noise about people opposing the building an embassy there. The fact is that it was not used, it is not essentially the Botanical garden, and it’s the car park area. I don’t see any problem in that.”

Background:

In 2014, the Government had agreed to allocate the proposed site for the construction of the Indian Embassy. The Indian Government had also allocated a land valued at $107 million to its Fijian counterpart to also construct an Embassy in Delhi, India.

According to the Ministry of Lands, this is some sort of land exchange however teh site close to Botanical garden is valued at $2 million while India has allocated a piece of land in New Delhi worth $107mil for Fiji to build an Embassy. T

The proposed rezoning of Lot 2 Botanical Garden in Suva is still in the objection phase.

The objection period ends on the 25th of this month.

 

 

Delay in Land lease renewal affects Industry

Prime Minister and Minister for Sugar Voreqe Bainimarama says land lease issue continues to be a challenge for the sugar industry and as a result of non-renewal of land leases, the total sugar farming land had reduced from 73,000 hectares in 1996 to 55,000 in 2006.

He says this was further reduced to approximately 39,000 hectares in 2016.

Bainimarama says many will argue that some members of the opposition had contributed to this.

While responding to a question from SODELPA parliamentarian Inosi Kuridrani in relation to the decline in sugar production, Bainimarama said that from 1997 to 2017, the number of active sugarcane farmers was reduced from 20,000 to 11,000.

Bainimarama says from the 8,000 farmers who left the industry, 5,000 farmers had left between 1996 to 2006.

He says they also have ageing markers as currently 79% of sugarcane farmers are above the age of 50 years and majority of the current generation have moved on to find employment in other sectors.

Bainimarama says there is also shortage of labour particularly cane cutters which got reduced from 15,000 in 2006 to 7,000 in 2017.

The Prime Minister says the last nine years of consecutive economic growth has resulted in better opportunities in other sectors that has reduced available labour pool in the sugar industry.

Bainimarama also told the parliamentarians that few years prior to Tropical Cyclone Winston trend in cane production was on the rise.

Bainimarama adds that now less tonnage of sugarcane is required to produce more sugar.

He says there was 18% increase in total cane crushed in 2017 which is a commendable effort despite the damage by TC Winston.

 

Source: Fijivillage.com

Link: http://fijivillage.com/news/Land-lease-issues-continue-to-be-a-challenge-for-the-sugar-industry—PM-rs52k9/

PCN to answer question

A bench warrant has been issued against the Director of the People’s Community Network.

 

Semiti Qalowasa who is charged with one count of failing to furnish information failed to appear in Court today.

It is alleged that Qalowasa failed to furnish full information, records, and copies which were issued by way of Requisition of Information Notice number to the Fiji Competition and Consumer Commission.

The incident occurred between January 17th and January 23rd. The case has been adjourned to April 25th.

 

Background:

The pilot housing project had started in 2015 when it was opened by the Prime Minister with the aim that the Lagilagi Pilot Project at Jittu Estate aimed at housing 162 squatter families, will lead to the end of squatting for the other 200 informal settlements around the country.

The Project was targeted at those living in teh Jittu informal settlement and would see  a partnership between 162 families and the PCN, whereby the families pay $12,000 over a period of 12-14 years for the construction of their own two or single bedroom home on a piece of land belonging to PCN.

The Fijian Government had injected $12.7m into the project including construction of 143 units, road infrastructure, and electricity. However out of the 143 units that were supposed to be built, so far, only 117 units have been completed.

This saw an investigation launched by the FCCC as well as other stakeholders.

Fijian Government looks into EIA breach

Minister Environment Dr. Mahendra Reddy confirms that a resort that is under construction on Malolo Island in Fiji’s Mamanuca Group has violated the terms of its development as clearly outlined by the Department of Environment.

 

As such, the Ministry is pursuing prosecution of the company in question, Freesoul Real Estate Development (Fiji) Ptd Ltd.

Dr. Reddy says the department is working closely with the Office of the Director Public Prosecutions to see that Freesoul Real Estate Development (Fiji) Pte Ltd is prosecuted on the offenses and environmental damage they have incurred on the island of Malolo. The case was filed for the prosecution to the ODPP in September of 2018.

Initially, the proposed resort was to include overwater villas, restaurants, a club, and a casino, as well as beachfront units, ridge units, a kindergarten, a spa, and back-of-house facilities.

However, after conducting their required environmental impact assessment (EIA), the number of accommodation units permitted by the Department was reduced from the initially-planned 351 to 102, and the decision was made not to permit a casino.

The Minister affirms that the Department, in carrying out its roles in processing the EIA, ensured that all legislative requirements under the Environment Management Act 2005 EIA were followed.

Dr. Reddy says the EIA process was inclusive, participatory, and transparent and ensured that all concerns raised were addressed.

He adds after the completed EIA report was received from the company in July 2018, the Ministry began a thorough review process which included giving the public an opportunity to state their views on the report.

Dr. Reddy adds a public consultation meeting was held in Solevu Village to present the findings of the report back to the community, and a review committee was established to examine and analyze the report.

He says the Department has also been in continuous communication with both the Fiji Hotel Tourism Association and various hoteliers in the Malolo region to gain their input to the proposed development.

Dr. Reddy mentions that the Department took all feedback into consideration, and consequently, a scaled-back version of the project was approved in December 2018.

He adds the approved development would strictly allow for land based-development –– a conscious decision to minimize any environmental impact.

As a condition of the approval, the company was given a number of very stringent conditions to fulfill before works begin on site, and all foreshore development works were not permitted.

Meanwhile, it is clear that these conditions have been breached.

The Department’s involvement with FREDL’s Malolo Island project began on June 15, 2017, when the company lodged its EIA screening application with the intent to build a new resort.

 

 

 

 

Source: FBC News

Link: https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/ministry-looks-to-prosecute-a-company-for-violating-and-breaching-conditions/

Over $600 million to assist Fijian Homeowners

The Housing Authority borrowed $628 million over the last six years to fund its capital projects and assist Fijians with home ownership.

General Manager Finance, Poasa Verevakabau says the borrowing bill for the next three years is expected to average over $500 million. Verevakabau says the Authority was established with the aim to assist low-income earners to own a house and the borrowing bill proves it hasn’t been an easy task.

“Our business operation doesn’t rely on the grant from the government only, we generate income internally to sustain the authority operation. We have borrowed funds from the Exim Bank of China, Bonds, and Reserve Bank loans.”

Verevakabau says the mortgage portfolio stands at $91 million as of last month, with a non-performing loan of $7.6 million. He adds the Authority has taken on board social policies to assist Fijians who are unable to make repayments.

From 2011 to 2018, the Authority assisted about 400 customers by forgiving a debt of $6.8 million. He says despite a heavy borrowing and mortgage portfolio, the Authority has been able to earn profits.

“From 2015 we made a profit of $2 million, 2016 a profit of $1.4 million was earned, in 2017 the Authority achieved $1.7 million and in 2018 we made profits of $1.4 million.”

Since 2013, the government and Reserve Bank allocated $47 million to the Authority of which $25 million has been used.

Source: FBC News

Link: https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/housing-authority-borrowed-628m-over-6-years/

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Fiji’s Housing Authority addresses lack of expertise

The Housing Authority has revealed that there is a shortage of qualified engineers and surveyors in the country.

General Manager, Poasa Verevakabau says recruitment of technical team remains an on-going challenge for the Authority.

The Authority launched its own construction arm in 2017 with the aim to provide affordable housing for low to middle-income earners.

Verevakabau says since the launching of this – large sums has been forked out to pay for the engineers and surveyors.

“Engineers and surveyors are one of the challenges that we normally face as they are in high demand and there’s a shortage of them, therefore at times we need to really negotiate on their salary scale in order to get good engineers.”

Verevakabau says the solution for this is to procure experts from overseas to assist with housing development.

He adds the Authority is currently in discussion with Asian Development Bank and ICF bank to assist with funding for this solution.

Meanwhile, Housing authority will now be providing practical training for Fiji National University (FNU) students at their various project sites. This comes after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between FNU and Housing Authority at FNU Nasinu
Campus in Suva yesterday.
The partnership with the Housing Authority recognises the intention of FNU to provide quality education and opportunity for industrial attachment at Housing Authority. This is meant for all FNU students who are enrolled in the areas of Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Land Surveying, Architecture and Quantity Surveying.
FNU vice-chancellor, Professor Nigel Healey said upon completion of the attachment, the Housing Authority will issue a Certificate of Industrial Attachment to all FNU students who have successfully completed the duration of their attachment.
“The University’s core business is to provide Fiji and the Pacific’s Human Resource needs by delivering the highest quality and standards of teaching and training and this can only be achieved by ensuring that graduates have the right knowledge, skills,
are creative, innovative and have the necessary attributes for life,” he said.
Housing Authority board director Nesbitt Hazelman said the MOU will allow the Housing Authority to provide hands-on learning experience to students in certain areas.
“This is part of social obligation for the Housing Authority, to train the students and prepare them to join the work-force as they are the future leaders of this country. The Housing Authority believes this effort will deepen professional education for FNU students and will also help bring the theory to life, meaning the students will be able to apply the knowledge, concepts and skills in a real working environment,” Mr
Hazelman said.
The MOU will encourage individual students to participate in an industrial attachment for a duration of six months in the areas of:

• Civil Engineering
• Structural engineering
• Land surveying
• Architecture
• Quantity surveying

The MOU is valid for a period of five years.

Source: https://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/02/fnu-partners-with-housing-authority-to-develop-engineers-2/

Fiji’s Lagilagi Project under scrutiny

The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission is expected to wrap up their investigation into the Lagilagi Housing project in three months’ time.

 

Chief Executive Joel Abraham says teams have been deployed to conduct house to house visitation, speaking to residents to ensure that all issues affecting people and their families are covered.

Abraham says they have received over 100 complaints so far.

He adds they will also be seeking technical assistance during the investigation phase.

“Once we look into the Lagilagi housing project – we also look at all facets of Lagilagi Housing so it’s not that today we dealing with consumer complaints and tomorrow we come for building complaints and later we come for some other complaints.”

The Government had ordered FCCC to carry out an investigation into the affairs of the People’s Community Network who was tasked to manage the Lagilagi Housing project.

The order came following complaints received from customers on the unsatisfactory delivery of the project.

PCN was given $12.7 million by the Government for the project, however, work was not been delivered as promised.

Link: https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/fccc-to-complete-lagilagi-housing-investigation-by-april/